Reunion
by kingofthewilderwest
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless investigate an island on which wild Night Furies still live. A semi-serious one shot drabble off the prompt for HTTYD 3 to end in tragedy.


Over the island Hiccup and Toothless flew, eyes panning the ground beneath them for signs of life. Hiccup felt his heart thudding heavily, heavily, heavily from inside his chest, and it pounded all the harder when he caught sight of some black shape shifting amongst the trees below.

_Night Fury._

They had found it. Found the island where Night Furies still lived.

So long had Hiccup anticipated this moment. Hoped for it. Dreamed beyond all hope, for certainly it had appeared the species died off.

"Toothless, did you see that?" the chief asked in wonder. The Night Fury under him burbled an optimistic - if still notably nervous - affirmative. Hiccup could feel the dragon's muscles taught beneath him as they flew downward, spiraling to the island surface; surely his best friend was just as nervous to meet another Night Fury as Hiccup was.

_Toothless hasn't seen a Night Fury in at least half a dozen years._

"This is it, bud. Other Night Furies. You finally get to meet your family!"

First Hiccup had met his mother, whom he had expected dead, and now Toothless, whose species had vanished many years ago, would be reunited with his own kind.

They reached treeline. Coniferous branches stretched out to welcome them as they descended into a small clearing scattered with rock, an area close to where Hiccup had spotted movement. As soon as they landed, Hiccup adjusted his peg leg, hopped out of the saddle, and with a smile urged his dragon to meet another.

A small rumble in Toothless' throat accompanied the dragon as he immediately sniffed the air and wandered in the direction of the other Night Fury.

And then a screech.

Sonic blast. Visual. Everything erupted into violet light.

Dive down.

Tree branches rained to the earth.

Hiccup, shocked, pulled himself up from the ground, kneeling on four limbs and staring wide-eyed in the direction of the attack. Toothless himself appeared terrified, backing up slowly toward Hiccup, wings beginning to unfurl as though suggesting the two take off and flee while they still lived.

_That other Night Fury is hostile!_

"Okay, bud," Hiccup whispered, reaching a hand toward his dragon's flank. They were still a bit of a distance away from one another, but Hiccup's hand sought to close the gap. "Very quiet… very slowly…"

Another sudden screech.

Hurling black.

"TOOTHLESS, NO-!"

The roar of a Night Fury burst into a sudden _scream. _It was like nothing Hiccup had before ever heard. The cry of a banshee… the screech of sudden pain…

…and it rang

rang

rang

in his ears.

But all he could see were afterimages of light flashing before him. Could not see, could not hear…

_Please, tell me it wasn't Toothless who jumped in front of me and got hit…_

Hiccup blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to adjust, trying to revert his eyes to their normal vision. Slowly, they acceded.

Before him lay a bloodied dragon. His best friend, the lights of his eyes fading, staring out toward him.

"Toothless… no…"

He had seen Toothless once lying on the ground before him, back when they first met. Hiccup had caught the dragon in his own bolas back then with the intent to cut out the creature's heart. That was how he had first expected to see this Night Fury's end. But Hiccup had changed his heart, cut Toothless free instead, and formed an inseparable bond.

What a horrid, horrid irony their friendship would end in the same way it had begun.

"Come on, buddy. You can't… no…" But Hiccup could see the wounds in the side, the amount of blood and torn muscle spilling out the dragon. There could be no way Toothless would live.

Not even caring if the other dragon returned, Hiccup fell heavily to his knees right there before Toothless' face so that he could stare the dragon eye-to-eye one last time. He placed his hand gently on Toothless' cheek.

In response, Toothless moaned an apology. But with it… a bit of a thanks…

A thanks for everything.

For that friendship they shared. From the first fish he regurgitated on Hiccup's lap… to the art he drew in the dirt… to their flights in the skies, soaring in the clouds… to every moment where they had saved the other's life… for the play wrestling and teasing and adventuring and every little moment, down to a smile.

Toothless tried to open his mouth into that gummy smile now, lips straining with effort.

They dripped blood.

Hiccup could not smile in return. He tried. He did. But instead his eyes shed tears which dripped onto the Night Fury's snout.

"You… you've changed my life, Toothless. I… I…" his voice choked up. He could hear in the distance the sound of footsteps approaching… the other hostile Night Fury… but he had to say this… _had_ to say this before he turned around and confronted the other dragon. "…I could not have done any of this without you."

Toothless moaned an affirmative, but the spark of his eyes - it flickered.

His head began to drop.

"I will carry you with me, every step I take, every decision I make. You are part of my blood, and I would never have gotten this far without you."

Toothless rested his head on the dirt. It was red.

"We shall meet again in a better world than this one."

But then Hiccup heard the screech of a Night Fury sudden rise up behind him. Hiccup did not even have time to raise his hands before he and Toothless were blasted - together - to Valhalla.


End file.
